February 24, 2016

#TwitterGestapo #FreeStacy

I spent a long time building up over 12,000 followers on Twitter. I'm prepared to walk away from that because Twitter it seems, is run by Nazis. I don't have nearly the audience through other outlets like Google+, but I don't care. To be honest, very little of my traffic comes from Twitter anymore. But it's actually the principle that matters to me.

When Twitter sanctioned popular right-wing provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos last month for bad behavior, conservatives were concerned. Two weeks ago, when the social media platform picked a bunch of leftist groups to write its new harassment policies, they grew worried.

Now, in the wake of Twitter’s recent decision to ban conservative blogger Robert Stacy McCain, is it time for full-fledged panic?

There’s no telling what Twitter’s endgame is, but it’s unlikely to be good for users who don’t want the company to enforce overly broad harassment and hate-speech policies at the expense of open dialogue.

And that's not all they've done.

Twitter recently formed the Orwellian-named “Trust and Safety Council” to propose changes to the company’s use policies. The goal, according to a press release, was to find a middle ground between permitting broad free speech and restricting actual abuse.

But practically none of the 40 people chosen to be part of the council are all that concerned about free speech. In fact, most of them work for anti-harassment groups and seem likely to recommend further limitations on online expression.

One such council member is Anita Sarkeesian, a feminist blogger and opponent of the GamerGate movement.

Go ahead and ban conservatives Twitter. You're Nazis with a failing business model. Ban me, I do not care. Conservatives will find other outlets for our opinions.

Twitter does not have to respect the First Amendment to the Constitution, they're a private company and can run their business into the ground if they like. But be prepared to reap the whirlwind.

Conservatives will abandon you in droves. Any business prepared to give up 50 percent of their users is not a business that will survive.